[X4U] Tiger's Calculator.app no longer does percentages?

[Aron Spencer]

I just noticed that some calculators get even weirder. So let's  
consider, then, what is 15%? By your definition, 15%, by itself,  
should produce 0 on the calculator, or an error, since there was  
nothing to apply it to. However, most calculators will give .15. I  
have seen some that answer 2.25 (15% of 15), but I can't justify that  
no matter how hard I try...
Nevertheless, 15% is not exclusively a ratio. It is a shorthand for  
"hundredths". So 24839% = 248.39

Obviously, the problem is that there is no "of" button on the  
calculator.

As far as tipping goes, there is an implied "of" as in "of the bill"  
which is distinctly different than the OP's notation of "+". Hence  
the inconsistent calculator convention.

On Nov 27, 2005, at 3:15 PM, Neil wrote:

> on 11/27/05 2:32 PM, Aron Spencer wrote:
>
>> Ah, but .15 is a ratio as well. So is 1. ¼, however is not, nor  
>> are e, ˆ2, ˆ3, ˆ5, ....
>> Hence the term "rational numbers".
>
> OK, I can see that there is some confusion because decimals and  
> fractions can be ratios or they can be numbers.  Percents are  
> different in that percentage is by definition a ratio.   It is  
> never a number.  You use percents to calculate a number.  That’s  
> why a 15% tip is not the same thing as a 15 cent tip.
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Aron S. Spencer
Elizabeth, NJ 07202

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